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One Piece Driveline

5K views 24 replies 6 participants last post by  outofrshell 
#1 ·
I have started my project to replace my drive line with a one piece shaft. I was not going to post this figuring it had enough coverage but in my search and research I found no where that any one had switch the back half of the T-Case to a flange drive like Rodeos and 2ND Gen Troopers so with that in mind I will do a project thread. First the main reason I am doing a one piece DL is to eliminate the carrier bearing, mine keep failing at the rubber the last 3 out of state 4X4 trips I have come home with the DL flopping around. So far I have bought a 1994 Rodeo for the T-Case back half, I have made a flange to mate to the flange on the new T-Case and I have lathed turned all of the welds off the pieces of DL that I will need. With that done now it's off to the machine shop with the parts for them to make a new DL. Now the big question. Is there a reason not to use a slip joint like a regular drive line? I have talked to Jerry and he said there should be no issue using the T-Case half from the 94. My concern of using the slip joint in the case is that it looks like it would create more wear and stress on the tail shaft but may be not. Also in the future I would like to fit a caliper type E-Brake to the flange. I will post pictures later along wit an up date.
 
#2 ·
You mean to say you don't want a slip joint in the driveline? Its not possible. You need to allow the driveshaft to change length as the suspension cycles. You can use a slip joint in the shaft itself if you have a fixed output or the slip will be in thenyolk itself. Either works but a fixed yolk is often preferred because you can sustain driveshaft damage, remove it and drive home on the front axle.
 
#3 ·
I used a shortened driveshaft from a '92 2wd pickup, which all used the slip yoke into the tranny tailpiece method, so it can't be all that bad considering the number of vehicles using it. I think where the flange method with a mid slip joint is better is for more extreme driveshaft angles & extreme suspension articulation that put more side stress on the slip yoke & risk pulling it out too far.
From my measurements the slip yoke on my Trooper only slides maybe 1" between full compression & full droop & very little of that is during compression. Because of the rear shackles & a fixed front spring mount that acts as a pivot as the suspension droops the axle also moves forwards slightly, conversely as the suspension compresses the axle moves backwards, so the overall front-to-back movement in the slip yoke is way less than I first imagined.
One thing I had to do was relocate the p-brake cable attachment that is on the portion of the center bearing support that has to be removed. BTW a metal blade in a reciprocating saw cuts right through the support with no sparks.
 
#4 ·
I will have a slip joint but it will be in the drive line, the flange I made will have a yoke welded to it which will carry the female half of the slip joint. The drive line itself will have the male half of the slip joint welded into one end and a yoke on the other. I know a lot of vehicles use the tail shaft for the slip joint but seems that using a flange and slip joint is less vulnerable to damage and leaking. I will have pictures today and it will be more clear what I am up to. Dave
 
#5 ·
The rear shaft in the trooper is long enough that using the stock slip yoke case would be fine for most applications (an old trooper of mine with 5" or so SOA lift was fine with the slip yoke case and the proper length 1-piece shaft), but using the fixed yoke from the rodeo case and putting the slip in the shaft is fine, just a little more work.
 
#6 ·
All the parts for the conversion

The donor Rodeo

Parts and how they go together

Flange, yoke and T-Case as it will be when done
 
#7 ·
Yea you don't want to do that. Go find the correct Isuzu driveshaft flange to bolt to your output. It is a round flange with the corresponding bolt holes and indexing ring and U joint ears on the other side.
 
#8 ·
I am not sure if that is possible, there is already a flange on the T-Case so if any thing you would need another yoke like the rear shaft had but I am not sure if the indexing ring would be the same as the flange on the T-Case. What I have now is a yoke that has an extension on the back and that extension is a machine fit into the flange I made. But now that you mentioned it it would very easy to finish that flange with an index ring on it. As it is right now before it gets welded there is less than 5 thousand run out from flange to yoke (very difficult to measure). It would be much easier with an index ring to assure that the 2 flanges mate up perfectly instead of relying on just bolts. Also the shop doing the drive line will be doing all of the welding and checking my alignment. So thanks for the idea and it is back to shop and more fun with the lathe. Dave
BTW finding Isuzu parts in this area is nearly impossible that is why I bought the Rodeo, it actually could have been put back on the road with a little work but for $200.00 I got the parts I needed plus a full set of 16" wheels and other misc. pieces
 
#9 ·
God have you ever heard the saying you can't see the trees for forest, will after Geoff's reply and my ramblings about how I had it all figure out I went out to the shop to improve the flange I had made. I guess I was so focused on the round flange at the T-Case that I was convinced I had to make a match to it. I started thinking about what Geoff had said and I looked at every thing I had removed from the Rodeo and there was an extra yoke that mated up the the T-Case flange because the Rodeo also had a 2 piece drive line. These yoke are not round but rectangular but the bolt pattern is consistent through out the drive train. It sure is fun getting older you always have some thing to blame senior moments on. Thanks Geoff for making me come to my senses. Oh by the way I did have fun making the flange. Dave
 
#10 ·
outofrshell said:
God have you ever heard the saying you can't see the trees for forest, will after Geoff's reply and my ramblings about how I had it all figure out I went out to the shop to improve the flange I had made. I guess I was so focused on the round flange at the T-Case that I was convinced I had to make a match to it. I started thinking about what Geoff had said and I looked at every thing I had removed from the Rodeo and there was an extra yoke that mated up the the T-Case flange because the Rodeo also had a 2 piece drive line. These yoke are not round but rectangular but the bolt pattern is consistent through out the drive train. It sure is fun getting older you always have some thing to blame senior moments on. Thanks Geoff for making me come to my senses. Oh by the way I did have fun making the flange. Dave
:mrgreen:
 
#11 ·
I guess thats why I was confused. I was thinking in my head just take the 2 ends plus a slip yolk and make a shaft, whats the big deal with all the special parts? But now I see you thought some parts were missing and hard to find. But now all is well with the universe and we can continue with this Isuzu insanity lol.
 
#12 ·
One of the flange yokes from the donor's front driveshaft should also work.
 
#13 ·
Yes and also the yoke from any of the spare drive lines I have for my 89 Trooper. I guess the yokes on me. Dave
 
#14 ·
Make sure you remember the o-ring/seal that goes behind the big output shaft nut... Shaft - yoke - o-ring/seal - nut.
 
#15 ·
Thanks on the ring. Dave
 
#17 ·
It was never finished. But as for the transfer case back half I think the are all the same ,autos have a flange and 5 speeds have a slip shaft
 
#19 ·
I would think so because all T cases were the same after 87
 
#20 ·
The MUA5 and 4l30e share the same tcase in general, although adapted differently. The 1st gen 4 cyl with the aisin auto have an integrated toyota t-case, so it's doubtful that the flange would adapt to an MUA5 case.
 
#21 ·
That true and that's why I said past 87 , 88 used the mua5
 
#22 ·
outofrshell said:
That true and that's why I said past 87 , 88 used the mua5
Maybe we are on the same page, and I'm just reading it wrong, but just to clarify - for the manuals, you are absolutely right - 88 on used the MUA5. But for autos, 2.6 came with with toyota/aisin unit, and the GM 2.8/3.1s came with the GM 4l30e. If you are trying rob parts for a fixed flange swap, you'll want to avoid the a340h trans/case combo that came behind the 2.6 from 88 to 91. It was the same unit that came in toyota 4runners/pickups from mid 80s to mid 90s. If you try to use any parts off of it on an MUA5, you'll be disappointed.
 
#23 ·
I trust your wisdom, I have never had to work on 2.6 auto, only look under one at a scrap yard and it was so muddy it was hard to see any thing. I did know the parts for the t-case behind an auto 4L30 was compatible.
 
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#25 ·
According to Paulvan the t-case from a 4 cylinder auto is not compatible. What you want is t- case from a Isuzu with the 4l30 automatic and that would be 1989 thru 1991 2.8. V6 Trooper with an automatic, Rodeos,Amigos and Troopers with autos. I am not sure what late model Isuzu's used for a t-case. I think that around 1997 Isuzu made changes but not sure what t- case was used
 
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